Performance history

The world premiere was given on 11 November 1887 at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg conducted the composer and with stage direction by Osip Palechek (Josef Paleček), set designs by Mikhail Bocharov; and costume designs by E. Ponomaryov.

Other notable performances include the Moscow premiere at the Bolshoy Theatre in 1890, followeded by two others in that city in 1900 and 1913.

Synopsis

The action takes place at the last quarter of the 15th century at the tavern and brothel near Nizhny Novgorod. Nastasia (Kuma), the charming owner of the inn, has made herself an enemy in rejecting the devious Mamyrov, the right-hand man of the local governor Nikita Danilovich...Read More